Oil Palm Clone Production in IOPRI Laboratory - isopb

Oil Palm Clone Production in IOPRI Laboratory
Iman Yani Harahap, Taufiq Caesar Hidayat, and Retno Diah Setiowati
Indonesia Oil Palm Research Institute, Medan-Indonesia
ABSTRACT
Indonesian Oil Palm Research Institute (IOPRI) has a tissue culture laboratory
located in Marihat, North Sumatra. The laboratory has operated since 1985 in
collaboration with CIRAD-France. The clones produced have been planted since
1987 spread out in some areas such as North Sumatra, Riau, West Sumatra,
Lampung, West Java, Aceh, West Borneo, and South Sulawesi with total area + 2000
ha.
In effort to commercialize IOPRI’s Clone (known as Marihat Klon, MK), IOPRI
has developed system for quality control and to improve efficiency for mass
production. The increase in the number of ramets were due to the increase in numbers
of ortets sampled, the degree of multiplication, the reduction in contamination, the
planlet survival of more than 80% in acclimatization and the clone abnormality of
less than 5%. Abnormality can be traced by database system. The system records all
the history of the clones at every step. It makes possibilities to trace and control clone
production system.
MK has more superior characters compared with plants from germinated seed.
It has more homogenous vegetative, more precocious, and higher productivity 20-
25% (35-42 tons FFB/ha/year) than common DxP. That is why, MK is the answer to
the future oil palm.
Key words: Indonesian Oil Palm Research Institute, Marihat Klon, Tissue Culture
53

INTRODUCTION
Indonesian Oil Palm Research Institute (IOPRI) has a tissue culture laboratory
located in Marihat, North Sumatra. The laboratory has operated since 1985 in
collaboration with CIRAD-French. The clones produced have been planted since
1987, spread out in some areas in Indonesia such as North Sumatra, Riau, West
Sumatra, Lampung, West Java, Aceh, West Borneo, and South Sulawesi with total
area + 2000 ha.
When clones were produced by tissue culture that was true to type with their
ortet, they would have productivity 20-25% higher than DxP. But in this
development, clones had problems with mantled fruit (abnormality). For this reason,
since 1995 IOPRI conducted research and evaluations of the clone performance in the
field. Now it has found strategy to prevent the abnormality. Commercial clones that
are produced by IOPRI come from material that has been selected by tight criteria.
The latest technology can produce superior oil palm with a short immature period,
homogenous plan growth, and productivity of FFB and oil 20-25% higher than the
material from seeds (DxP).
OIL PALM CLONE PRODUCTION IN IOPRI’S LABORATORY
IOPRI tissue culture laboratory has been operating since 1985, but problems in
abnormality made it advance slowly. For this reason research and evaluation were
conducted to solve the problem. In early 2007, a new resolution were implemented in
IOPRI tissue culture techniques in order to produce a true superior clone. System
process and selection were controlled to minimize abnormality, limit contamination
and increase efficiency. Database was developed to record all the process so that all
the plants planted in the field could have their history traced.
Tissue culture has specific steps to produce clones. Oil palm explants are
taken from young leaves. Explants are induced to into callogenesis, embryogenesis,
shootlet, root induction, and finally planlet. It takes 12-16 months from explants to
become planlets. Not all ortets can produce planlets. Some produce very well calli in
short time, but some do not. Explants without producing calli will be swept out after 2
years. So far, multiplication index in IOPRI tissue culture laboratory varies in every
step. The lowest is calli induction from explants; its multiplication index is 0.03 or 3%
54

from explants. The highest multiplication index is embryogenesis; it is 24 or 2400%
are showed in Table 1.
With a tight limitation in number of subcultures (it is limited to only 12
subcultures totally along the process, less then 2 years in the process from calli to
plantlets), IOPRI can produce about 86,000 planlets from an ortet. Then planlets will
be acclimated before they are sent to the nursery.
Tabel 1. Multiplication Index of Marihat Klon in IOPRI Tissue Culture Laboratory
No Phase
Process
From To
Quantity
From To
Multiplication
(%)
1 Explant Explant Pre-Callus 2000 60 3
2 Callogenesis Pre-Callus Callus 60 500 840
3 Embryogenesis Callus Embryo 500 12,000 2,400
4 Pre Shoot Embryo Pre-Shoot 12,000 203,000 1,700
5 Shoot Pre-Shoot Shoot 203,000 119,000 58
6 Root inducsion I Shoot R.Induction I 119,000 107,000 90
7 Root inducsion I R.Induction I R.Induction II 107,000 96,000 90
8 Planlet R.Induction II Planlet 96,000 86,000 90
Vegetative Performance
THE LATEST MARIHAT KLON PERFORMANCE
Field observation showed that MK can adapt well with the environment. Table
2 shows that Leaf Area Index (LAI) of 3 plants from MK is higher than common
DxP. It means that MK performance is better against common DxP.
Tabel 2. Marihat klone vegetative performance at 3 years old in Afd. I Marihat Estate PTPN.
IV.
High Number Long of Petiola Sum Average
Plant of Rachis (cm) Lamina Lamina
Blok (cm) Frond Long Thickness 1 side Long Thickness LAI
D X P
MK-558
MK-610
MK-629
164.70 43 363.80 5.06 3.18 130 0.88 0.04
175.80 55 342.90 4.92 2.70 117 0.78 0.05
191.50 50 432.10 5.61 3.85 134 0.95 0.05
166.00 49 355.90 5.02 2.95 129 0.90 0.04
55
3.2
3.6
4.2
3.6

Generative Performance
Flowering census of the clones which were planted in Afdeling I Marihat Estate
PTPN IV North Sumatra showed that at the age of 16 months 90% had flowered.
From the total 1.542 plants, there were 1,451 plants normal (82.20%), 60 plants with
heavy mantled fruit (15.87%), and 31 plants with light mantled fruit (1.93%). It was
observed from one location and it needed more locations to compare. Ginting (1995)
said that light mantled fruit can turn into normal plant with the maturity of the plant
after 4-5 years. But heavy mantled would not become normal (Table 3).
Tabel 3. Flower performance of marihat klon (MK) in Afdeling I kebun Marihat PTPN IV
North Sumatera at 3 years
No MK Crossing Total Normal
Number of Fruits
Heavy mantled Light Mantled
number percent number percent number percent
1 610
RS 084 D X
MA 840 T
1001 959 95.80 18 1.80 24 2.40
2 629
DS 029 D X
LM 002 T
295 283 95.93 9 3.05 3 1.02
3 558
BO 516 D X
BO 443 P
135 131 97.04 2 1.48 2 1.48
4 622
LM 274 D X
LM 2399T
31 21 67.74 10 32.26 0 -
5 634
DS 029 D X
LM 002 T
27 19 70.37 8 29.63 0 -
6 614
BO 126 D X
LM 002 T
30 25 83.33 5 16.67 0 -
7 638
DS 029 D X
LM 002 T
19 9 47.37 8 42.11 2 10.53
8 637
DS 029 D X
LM 002 T
4 4 100.00 0 - 0 -
Jumlah 1542 1451 82.20 60 15.87 31 1.93
It can not present productivity of MK in Afd. I Kebun Marihat PTPN.IV
because it is still immature phase, but trosen telling that conducted when the plants
were 3 years showed that total number flowers of MK was 22.38 % higher than plants
from germinated seeds. Number of bunches of MK is also 22.38 % higher than
common DxP. Ginting (2007) reported that MK productivity was higher than
common DxP. There was a lilttle differrence with Ginting (2007), observation result
found that Mk productivity was 37% higher than common DxP at the first production
age.
56

Table4. Comparison of MK and DxP Flower Performance in Afd. I kebun Marihat PTPN.IV
at 3 years old
No MK Hybrid Trial
Total
Floresence
Bunch
Percentage
Antera
Percentage
Sum (%) Sum (%)
1 610
RS 084 D X MA
840 T
DS 029 D X LM
10.72 9.34 87.13 1.38 12.87
2 629 002 T
BO 516 D X BO
10.98 9.6 87.43 1.38 12.57
3 558 443 P 10.8 8.8 81.48 2 18.52
Average 10.83 9.25 85.35 1.59 14.65
4 DXP 7.7 6.7 87.01 1 12.99
Average
7.70
CONCLUSION
57
6.70 87.01
1.00 12.99
Indonesian Oil Palm Research Institute (IOPRI) has conducted tissue culture
research since 1985 in collaboration with CIRAD-French with capacity of 1,000,000
plantlets a year. Today, besides research, IOPRI also produces oil palm clones
(known as Marihat Klon, MK) for commercial scale. Multiplication index of an ortet
is 86,000 plantlets. The main problem in tissue culture, abnormal plant (mantled
fruit), has been minimized by limitation of subculture numbers, limited culture
storage to less than 2 years, and minimizing hormone usage. IOPRI also conducts
clone field trials before releasing commercial MK. Abnormality can be traced by a
database system. The system records all the history of the clone at every step. It
makes it possible to trace and control clone production system.

REFERENCE
Corley, R.H.V., C.H.Lee, I.H.Law and C.Y.Wong (1986). Abnormal flower
development in oil palm clones. The Planter, 62, 233-240. 69
Duran-Gasselin, T, Y. Duval, L.Baudouin, A.B. Maheran, K.Konan & J.M.Noire
(1993). Description and degree of the mantled flowering abnormality in oil
palm (Elaeis quineensis Jacq) clones produced using the Orstam-CIRAD
Procedure. In Proc. of the 1993 ISOPB Int. Symp. Recent Development in Oil
Palm Tissue Culture and Biotechnology. Kuala Lumpur, 14-15 September,
1993, p.48-63.
Fatmawati, Gale, G., and Sjafrul, L., 1998. The improvement of survival rate of oil
palm planlet at pre-nursery through in-vitro hardening, Oil Palm Research
Journal vol 6 no.3 p.177-190. PPKS Press, Medan.
Ginting, G., Christian, M., and Kabul, P., 1996. Embriogenesis somatic pada kelapa
sawit untuk perbanyakan secara in-vitro klon unggul, Jurnal Penelitian Kelapa
Sawit, vol 4 no.1 p.1-16, PPKS Press, Medan.
______, Subronto, Tri, H., Fatmawati, and Adlin, U.L., 1995. Penampilan awal klon
kelapa sawit yang dihasilkan oleh PPKS, Jurnal Penelitian Kelapa Sawit, vol 3
no.1 p.11-26. PPKS Press, Medan.
______, and Diana, L.G., 2007. Increasing oil palm production througt klon material,
Oil Palm Research Journal vol 15 no.1 p.11-20. PPKS Press, Medan.
Ikwan, M. and Dwi, A., 1998. Selection of ortet sources on dura x pisifera population
for clonal propagation, Oil Palm Research Journal vol 6 no.3 p.165-176. PPKS
Press, Medan.
Nurhaimi– Haris and A. Darussamin (1997). RAPD analysis of oil palm clones with
normal and abnormal fruits. Menara Perkebunan, 65, (2), 64-74.
Slater, A., Nigel, W.S., and Mark, R.F., 2008. Plant Biotechnology ‘the genetic
manipulation of plants’, second edition, Oxford University Press, New York.
Subronto, Gale, G., and Fatmawati, 1997. The effect of growth media and relative
humidity on growth of planlet in pre-nursery, Oil Palm Research Journal vol 5
no.1 p.1-10. PPKS Press, Medan.
Toruan-Matius, N., Saro, I.B., and Bintang, M., 2001. Analysis abnormalities of oil
palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq) from tissue culture by random amplified
polymorphic DNA (RAPD), Menara Perkebunan 69 (2), p.58-70.
58